The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

In April 2005, Jeffrey Marsalis was arrested and charged with multiple counts of rape. Philadelphia police said he had been using an online profile to meet women whom he would date, drug and rape. This story originally aired on ABC News "20/20" on July 15, 2009. Tune in for an encore presentation of the Jeffrey Marsalis story on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013 at 10 p.m. ET

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

In April 2005, Jeffrey Marsalis was arrested and charged with multiple counts of rape. Philadelphia police said he had been using an online profile to meet women whom he would date, drug and rape. This story originally aired on ABC News "20/20" on July 15, 2009. Tune in for an encore presentation of the Jeffrey Marsalis story on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013 at 10 p.m. ET

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

His colorful profile included many pictures of him in various assumed identities, including this souvenir NASA photo, altered so that his name appeared on the nametag. His profile described his ideal woman: "If you want to be my copilot on the magic carpet ride, it's carry-on only, that means no stop signs, no stop lights, and throttle up."

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

As a law student living near Philadelphia, Jessika Rovell was introduced to Marsalis by a mutual friend. "My girlfriend said to me one night, 'Oh, I have a guy that you should meet. He is a doctor. He is a Navy officer,'" she told Primetime. "He seemed very interesting ? ambitious." The relationship became serious very quickly.

Courtesy of Jessika Rovell

The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

Marsalis told Rovell he was a trauma surgeon. After Marsalis began to disappear for days at a time, he claimed he was actually a CIA agent and that his unexplained absences were because of top-secret missions. The truth, it turned out, was even stranger.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

The couple visited Marsalis' father in Utah, pictured at left. As the relationship progressed, Marsalis' stories grew even more outlandish. He claimed to have interrogated Al-Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and to have flown on Air Force One with President George W. Bush. He also became abusive, she said. But Rovell did not break up with him.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

As her questions began to mount, Rovell was haunted by vague recollections of a sexual encounter with Marsalis, in which she blacked out after a few glasses of wine. Rovell eventually found the courage to end the relationship. She even contacted police to file a restraining order. And then she received a call telling her to contact the Philadelphia Police Department's special victims unit.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

It turns out that Marsalis, who'd been telling Rovell he was out of town on CIA missions, was really on a mission of a different sort: meeting women on-line. Marsalis met dozens of women through Match.com, using the profile name "Dr. Jeff." As he did with Rovell, he wooed them with far-fetched tales, claiming he was in training to be a flight surgeon for NASA.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

Twenty-one women told police that Marsalis had raped or sexually assaulted them, which he denied. Ten of these cases were prosecuted in two separate trials. The women he dated said he came across as affable and ambitious. But like Jessika, many said they had strange encounters with Marsalis in which they would pass out after a few drinks, then wake up the next morning feeling sick and scared.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

Although the women say they wondered whether something wrong and, perhaps, even criminal had happened in Marsalis' apartment, they said he was able to convince them that everything was fine. And many of them said they wanted to convince themselves of that. None of them went to police right away. Indeed, many of them saw Marsalis again.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

In March 2005, one of Marsalis' dates called the police. Police searched his apartment and quickly discovered that "Dr. Jeff" was not a doctor at all. He was a former emergency medical technician and nursing school dropout who had an associate's degree. Police also discovered Marsalis' "Yearly Calendar of Woman," a list of his dates. It would prove to be a key element in the investigation.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

As a high school student, Marsalis aspired to be a professional model, and his wholesome good looks were a key part of his activities. Despite being tried twice in Philadelphia, Marsalis was not found guilty of rape, although he was convicted on two related charges of sexual assault in the second trial.

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The Many Faces of Jeffrey Marsalis

Before his first trial, Marsalis headed to Sun Valley, Idaho, where he encountered trouble again, when a female co-worker came forward to accuse Marsalis of rape under virtually the same circumstances as the women in Philadelphia. In April 2009, He was found guilty in the Idaho case, and sentenced to life.